F1 Japan Grand Prix: Pierre Gasly fumes at tractor on track after red flag

Pierre Gasyle said two more metres and he would have died after encountering a tractor on track in Japan. Now he’s been penalised for the incident. Here’s why.

Gasly fuming after tractor on track

Formula One driver Pierre Gasly said he “would be dead right now” if he had been just two metres to the left as he encountered a tractor on track at the Japan Grand Prix.

Almost eight years to the day since Jules Bianchi suffered a fatal accident in similar circumstances at the same track, the Frenchman was furious that F1 “had learnt nothing”.

Gasly narrowly avoided the recovery vehicle that had entered the track after a red flag, and slammed the sport for disrespecting the memory of his childhood friend.

In 2014 Bianchi collided with a tractor crane that was recovering a car.

He underwent emergency surgery and was placed in an induced coma, but never recovered and died in July 2015.

Bianchi’s father Philippe echoed Gasly’s sentiments in a post on Instagram after the debacle that has left drivers, pundits and fans seething, saying: “No respect for the Life of the driver no respect for Jules memory ... incredible.”

The FIA, Formula One’s governing body, said normal procedures had been followed but pledged that there would be a “thorough review” after taking feedback from drivers.

Pierre Gasly has spoken out after his horrifying near miss. Picture: AFP

An apoplectic Gasly did not miss in his assessment of the debacle in his post race comments.

“We lost Jules eight years ago in similar conditions with a crane on track in the gravel,” Gasly told Autosport/Motorsport.com.

“I don’t understand how eight years later in similar conditions we can still see a crane, not even on the gravel but on the racing line.

“It is just not respectful towards Jules, towards his family, towards his loved ones and all of us.

“It was a dramatic incident and I think on that day we learned we don’t want to see any tractors in this kind of conditions.

“If I would have lost the car in a similar way as Carlos lost it on the lap before… I was doing 200kph but it is not the matter, even 100kph, if I would have lost it and hit a 12-tonne crane, I would’ve been dead right now.

“I am just extremely grateful that I am still standing and I am still going to be able to call my family tonight and still going to be able to call my loved ones and nothing happened.

“We were all in the pitlane a minute later. Risking my life for a minute, I don’t think that is acceptable.

“Today was two metres away from my front-left tyre, I obviously got extremely scared and what crossed my mind was… we all suffered from Jules’ accident and if we could go back and change the situation on that day, he would still be here.”

GASLY PENALISED FOR TRACTOR INCIDENT

To add insult to injury, the FIA then handed Gasly a 20-second penalty for speeding under red flag conditions.

The AlphaTauri driver also receives two points on his FIA superlicence, taking him up to nine for a 12-month period.

“After passing the scene of the incident, car 10 continued under the red flag situation, at speeds which exceeded 200 km/h on multiple occasions, and which reached 251 km/h at one point,” said the stewards.

“The driver conceded that he now understood that there could have been marshals or obstacles on the track, and admitted that he was too fast.

“However, in mitigation of penalty, we take into account that although the speed could not by any measure be regarded as ‘slow’ as required in the regulations, it was slower that the maximum speed that could be achieved under these conditions.

“We also take into account the shock the driver experienced on seeing a truck on the racing line in the corner of the incident.”

The onboard video of Gasly passing the recovery vehicle is terrifying. Something needs to change. pic.twitter.com/ldwszWgG9K

— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) October 9, 2022

Replays from the start appear to show some kind of truck or tractor on the circuit as Gasly passes during the red flag #JapaneseGOpic.twitter.com/MI6M275Dhc

— WTF1 (@wtf1official) October 9, 2022

they put a tractor right on the track as gasly was going by, completely unacceptable f1 has learned nothing since 2014 pic.twitter.com/vKsCneUG2e

— internet user cam exkyou (@nonsleepist) October 9, 2022

DRIVERS ENRAGED

Shocking vision from the Gasly’s car showed a recovery tractor on the Suzuka track as Gasly drove towards the pit lane entry.

The vision clearly shows the session being red flagged just seconds before the recovery vehicle comes into Gasly’s view.

Owing to the treacherous conditions the tractor was in no way visible until the Alpha Tauri driver got very close.

A furious Christian Horner described the tractor incident as totally unacceptable and said it was “lucky” nobody had been seriously injured or worse.

”We lost Jules Bianchi here and that should never ever happen,” the Red Bull team principal said.

“There needs to be a full investigation into why there was a recovery vehicle on the track in those horrendous conditions. It’s extremely dangerous.

Image from Phillippe Bianchi’s Instagram

“The VSC was brought in for a reason following that awful accident.

“Without all the facts it’s hard to comment on why it was on track so allow the FIA to do the full search. It was decided several years ago that what happened years ago was unacceptable.

“Visibility is just horrendous, even Max at the front is struggling to see so how anyone else can see anything at all… it’s the standing water that causes the issues. The rivers across the circuit, you get aquaplaning that lifts the drivers.

“We got lucky so far (that there wasn’t a more serious accident). It’s unimaginable that we saw something like that and the drivers are in one piece.”

His sentiments were echoed by many in the sport.

Martin Brundle tweeted: “Should have been an instant red flag with a stricken car in a critical position in those conditions. Clearly debris on track too.

“Should NEVER EVER be a tractor on track until the cars are all collected up behind a safety car or in the pits. Gasly can’t take all the blame here.”

How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on track?

We lost Jules because of that mistake.

What happened today is totally unacceptable!!!!!

I hope this is the last time ever I see a crane on track!

— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) October 9, 2022

With the race red flagged, McLaren driver Lando Norris took to his social media channels to express his shock and anger.

“Wtf. How’s this happened!?” Norris wrote.

“We lost a life in this situation years ago. We risk our lives, especially in conditions like this. We wanna race. But this… Unacceptable.”

Carlos Sainz, who crashed out of the race on the first lap, questioned the decision to race and questioned why race control would take any risk with tractors.

Wtf. How’s this happened!? We lost a life in this situation years ago. We risk our lives, especially in conditions like this. We wanna race. But this… Unacceptable.

— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) October 9, 2022

“How can you drive a car at 300kph with no visibility,” Sainz said in relation to the incident.

“I don’t know if people understand even behind a safety car we are going 100-150 km/h we don’t see nothing.

“One driver goes out the racing line, one drive hits a tractor and it’s over. I don’t know why we risk having this on track. You were going to red flag it so why risk it.”

Sergio Perez also vented his frustrations.

“How can we make it clear that we never want to see a crane on track?

“We lost Jules because of that mistake.

“What happened today is totally unacceptable!!!!!

“I hope this is the last time ever I see a crane on track!”

Should have been an instant red flag with a stricken car in a critical position in those conditions. Clearly debris on track too. Should NEVER EVER be a tractor on track until the cars are all collected up behind a safety car or in the pits. Gasly can’t take all the blame here

— Martin Brundle (@MBrundleF1) October 9, 2022

WHAT DID THE FIA SAY?

Incredibly, Gasly was summoned to the stewards for speeding under red flag conditions.

“Car 10 reached speeds of up to 250 km/h when completing the lap under the red flag after passing the scene of the incident.”

A statement from the FIA said: “In relation to the recovery of the incident on Lap 3, the Safety Car had been deployed and the race neutralised. Car 10, which had collected damage and pitted behind the Safety Car, was then driving at high speed to catch up to the field.“As conditions were deteriorating, the Red Flag was shown before Car 10 passed the location of the incident where it had been damaged the previous lap.”